The 10 most interesting teams in baseball right now

We're only a quarter of the way through the season — there's still a long way to go — but some trends are developing, particularly when it comes to who you need to care about (and who you can ignore) this season.

Interests vary, and most baseball fans enjoy rooting for their team and keep a cursory eye on division rivals and perhaps the rest of the league, but 10 teams are grabbing attention or are deserving of it early this season.

So while, yes, Mike Trout is incredible and should be watched every night, the Angels don't make this list because the rest of his team is wholly uninteresting.

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10

New York Mets

They're a mess off the field and that makes everything they do on the field (right now, that's mostly losing) interesting. This is the soap opera baseball needs. Michael Conforto does add some level of non-morbid intrigue — he's really good!

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9

Minnesota Twins

So they can't really hit and they're not pitching all that well, but they're in first place? That's weird, but you can thank their awesome defense, which is a joy to watch nightly. Also, Jose Berrios turning into an elite pitcher before our eyes is awesome to watch unfold.

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8

Houston Astros

We already knew that they'd be good — the only question we had going into this season was how good they'd be. It turns out, super good. It's amazing what happens when you put a bunch of really talented players on the field together.

7

Milwaukee Brewers

Even with the Eric Thames train slowing down, the Brewers are still a fascinating watch — they're perplexing like the Twins but hit more homers.

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6

Washington Nationals

They are the best slugging team in baseball, capable of putting 10 runs on the board every night, and they have a strong rotation as well. But that bullpen is terrible and that means there's a sense of doom behind every late-inning lead.

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5

New York Yankees

All Rise!

The Yankees mash at the plate with young, exciting talent, and they have two excellent starting pitchers and a strong bullpen.

Then comes the three other starting pitchers. They're not doing so well right now, and that makes the Yankees a fascinating enterprise.

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4

Texas Rangers

Last year's late-inning magic seems to have carried over to 2017, and that, paired with the spellbinding Yu Darvish, an up-and-down bullpen, and Joey Gallo, who is hitting .193 but has an OPS of .839 (think about how ridiculous that is for a moment), puts the streaky Rangers — who, if they hit a slump could blow it all up (extra intrigue) — on this list.

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3

Boston Red Sox

They were supposed to be really, really good this season. They're, in fact, aggressively mediocre. The blow-up potential is rising by the day, as is the ire at Fenway.

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2

Colorado Rockies

As I wrote earlier this week, the Rox are for real. They have a dominant bullpen, an improved starting staff, and a lineup that can mash for days (and hasn't clicked yet). Games in Coors Field are always worth your time and attention, but having a likable, good team playing home games there is a treat.

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1

Chicago Cubs

They're in the middle of a World Series hangover, they have a rotation that's been beyond underwhelming to start the year, and their division looks tougher than many expected. The Cubs are kind of a mess, but they're a fascinating one.

Not only does Chicago have a bevy of prospects at all the positions they don't need extra bodies, they have Javy Baez fighting for playing time, America's Large Adult Son, Kyle Schwarber, getting the bulk of the playing time in the outfield (where he is a disaster waiting to happen) and batting leadoff (at times), and a fan base that's going to get over the World Series and start expecting the dynasty it was promised soon.

Some days the Cubs look like the best team in baseball; other times they look like it might be another 108 years. They are a roller-coaster ride this year and the most interesting team in baseball.